Call for UK action in Georgia

The Government has been “powder puff” and “pathetic” in its attempts to stop Russia’s incursion into Georgia, protesters have said.

Hundreds of UK-based Georgians – many of whom have relatives who have died in the conflict – marched and chanted “Russia out” outside Parliament to voice their discontent at the international support their country has been afforded.

UK-based Georgians protest in Parliament Square

Protesters claimed the UK and US have been “letting Russia get away with murder” while they became obsessed with the war on terror in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Tatu Daras, 24, a Shell Oil trader from Kensington, London, said: “We all feel let down and powerless. This is the Georgian community’s way of making a point that the British Government’s powder puff and pathetic attempts to bring peace has not gone unnoticed. We have seen all words and no teeth.

“The West has given Russia a free reign since the Clinton administration in the US. Georgia has a lot of diplomatic support but today is to say there needs to be concrete action.”

Kepi Kalandadze, a teacher from Kilburn, north west London, said she had lost a cousin since the conflict began.

She said: “This has been organised alongside similar gatherings in Prague, Berlin, Frankfurt, Paris and Chicago – the point of this is that there are many Western countries who should feel responsible for assisting.

“People are dying while the West uses just words to try and end this crisis.”